Hello and welcome to my virtual gallery site. I am a professional visual artist, writer and designer based in Redfern, an inner city suburb of Sydney, Australia.

As well as these limited and unique edition digital prints there are many more original artworks and handmade objects available in my collection of works dating from the late 70s early 80s. I have original paintings (produced using either oils, pastels, watercolour, acrylic or mixed media), sculptures, pencil and charcoal drawings, collages, digital photographs, polaroids and hand-printed black and white photographs. Im also available for private commissions in all of the above as well as for large or small scale murals and tapestries, textiles and object design. I have been commissioned to write and illustrate for various publications, to consult on fine arts and provide art direction for corporations and individuals.

Production techniques:

My current technique involves the production of archival, limited edition, canvas, digital prints using as my source original images produced in a variety of media. The original images may be drawings, paintings, doodles or sketches as well as original photographs and found objects. The original image is scanned and then may or may not be manipulated before printing onto archival canvas. The printed canvas is then hand treated and sometimes hand coloured or painted over and finally coated with a clear, matt or gloss protective varnish. I am also in the process of producing screens and room dividers that are also lights based on an inspiration from traditional oriental wallhangings and screens. Part of the process involves the use of a selection of hand-drawn images which have been scanned and printed onto light box material and sandwiched between perspex.

I am also currently producing images for two exhibitions based on photographs: "Lines of Communication" using images of telegraph poles and wires and transmission towers and aereals as well as: "Pounding" (as in pounding the pavement)..using digital photographs of street art and man made markings and signs.

Philosophy and inspirations:

The inspiration for the content of most of my work comes primarily from my keen interest in science, maths and technology. This has led to an ongoing interest in and investigation into the histories of, and relationships between, science, art, spirituality and culture. The meaning of life as explained by science and interpreted through art. Im very interested in exploring the implications for life on earth of our rapid technological and scientific advancement. Genetic engineering, Chaos theory, evolutionary medicine, nano technology and fractal geometry are just some of the fields of study that have informed my work.

When producing my images I aim to express the idea that medieval thought, tribal thought and modern science come together in viewing the natural world as a vast complex system of linkages. This concept, familiar to primitive cultures, was summed up in the wise words of North American Indian chief Seattle when he stated that "Everything is connected". New discoveries in science tell us that the single cell is a temple of pluri-potentiality. Everything we do is a reflection of the separate cells whose choreographed interactions make us what we are. Life is predicated on the activities and the internal decision making process of the cells that created our biosphere. Art can convey an innate understanding of these ideas. Art can also stimulate a symbolic system of historical reference that hits chords within all of us.

Creative science and art have much in common.Einstein stated that "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious".The creative scientist can never know exactly what he wants or know in any precise way, how to attain it. He remains, of necessity, in a" miasma of uncertainty" - as does the artist. Both the creative scientist and the artist explore the understanding of a sensation, an emotion, a mode of presence, or project a network of experiences - the synthesis of opposing forces - demanding either emphatic attention or slowly sneaking up on the unconscious. Art and science can also give us a sense of the unexplainable truth - a connection with something more lasting. The "minds eye" expressing something built up from within rather than coming from without, beautifully expressed in the words of Australian mathematician, Frances Montrose when she wrote of "The desire on one hand to go on and on, to lean toward infinity. On the other hand, to be caught completed, with no more yearning."

Leonardo D Vinci wrote in his treatise on painting about what could be gained from studying stains on walls. "We know well that sight, through rapid observation, discovers in one glance an infinity if forms; nonetheless, it can only take in one thing at a time." In 1937 Max Ernst wrote , after reading Melzis notes on Leonardos treatise of "the unbearable visual obsession" that resulted, as it had also for Victor Hugo, after applying the advice of the master to the study of stains on walls. I have also developed a bit of an obsession with walls and stains and share with Leo and countless others a love of the landscape - both real and imaginary - from both a macro and a micro viewpoint. "As above, so below" - is also my understanding of the nature of the universe and I find that landscapes, especially the abstract and the surreal, can best express many of the concepts that fascinate me. I have been basing my work on these themes since the late 80s, early 90s. An example of this is my series of landscapes titled "Indivisible" which were a series of digital canvas prints produced from scanning small sections of original photographs taken from above of the concrete cancer at the bottom of Bondi Beach childrens pool. The landscapes themselves have little resemblance to the original photographs and they have titles and a layer of meaning that refer to evolutionary forces, mitochondrial DNA and the concept of cellular memory.

Some of the books that have had a great influence on me include Italo Cavalos Invisible Cities , Don Qixote by Cerevantes, Erwin Shrodingers What is Life, Chaos-the amazing science of the unpredictable. by James Gleick, The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo and Mandala by Jose and Miriam Arguelles. Fairytales, myths, and legends,poetrtry and music as well as Roald Dahl and Dr Zeuss childrens books have also had an influence.

The plant universe and in particular the tree appears in various forms in much of my work. Plants transmute light into life through photosynthesis. The human being transmutes life into consciousness through perception The human being is the plant of consciousness. I enjoy drawing and believe it is the basis of all the visual arts just as maths is the basis of all the sciences. Another of my regular motifs is "Millenium Man" which is an invented figure representing humanity and is neither male nor female despite the name and whose form was inspired by the figures in the works of New York artist Keith Harring. As well as creating visual pleasure and wanting to entertain the viewer I aim to enable myself and others to see things in a unique way. I am interested in explorations that lead to a broadening and expansion of the five senses and of our consciousness...and in "elevating the lowly into the magnificent".

I often ponder the paradox of existence and am convinced that "It seems as if human beings are being prepared for something other than survival" "Humanitus" is where a common language is expressed and is no where more appreciated than when it is expressed through art and science as well as through music and love.

My images are records of thoughts and experiences as well as of places and observations. They are the final result of a long process of research and investigation into the concepts and topics of interest to me at the time or simply my own intangible visceral yearnings "toward infinity".

Leonardo also wrote that "Man is a model of the world" and "All that is beautiful is difficult".

Personal biography:

Born 29th September 1960 in Sydney Im the middle child in a fascinating family of seven children. I grew up in a big and happy house in Longueville on Sydneys lower north shore. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an artist and I was encouraged by my parents and the gentle and intelligent nuns that taught me at Loreto Kirribilli. I feel so passionate about being an artist that I liken it to a vocation more than a career. I have been in over 35 fine art exhibitions, many of which I also curated. I exhibited in the very first soley digital fine art show in Sydney at Digit One gallery in 1995. I have had five solo shows and have exhibited in a number of established galleries in Sydney. I have recieved favorable reviews in the Sydney press (by Lenny Ann Low of the Sydney Morning Herald).

I love my family and my beautiful daughter Emelye who is 22 years old and my biggest fan. Life as a single parent and a dedicated artist has been far from easy but Im lucky to have been born in Australia, which is a wonderful place to be. Even though I have done some travel Im keen to visit and work in other countries and have a particular interest in going to Spain, Germany, China, Japan and New York city. I adore Sydney and I believe that I can make a valuable contribution to my societys creative identity and culture. Basically Im gunna do it anyway "even if it doesnt pay"!

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go the making of genius. Love, love, love - is the soul of genius" Mozart

Art Education:

National Art School East Sydney

Mitchell College Bathurst 2001-2

Enmore Design Centre 2004

Influential teachers:

Rex Dupain, John Williams, Ingeborg Theissen, Noal and Vivienne Thurgate, G.D.Tracy.

Influential artists:

Picasso, Rembrandt, Goya, Leonardo Da Vinci, Marc Chagal, Monet, Gaudi, Henri Matisse, Marcel Duchamps, Rene Magritte, Rosalie Gascoine, Mondrian, Emily Kingwarre, Giorgio Morandi,Clarice Beckett, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, Vincent Van Gogh, M.C.Escher, Diane Arbis, Man Ray, Max Dupain, Fiona Hall, Bill Henson, Grace Cossington, Gustav Klimpt, Andy Warhol, Tracey Moffit, Tatali Nangala, Keith Harring, Brancusi, Giacometti, Christo, Ron Muik, Richard Maplethorpe and Paul Cezanne.

I will be regularly updating this site and wellcome any feedback. Im excited by the potential for possibilites that this site presents. I want to share my love of art with all my heart.

Jo Tracy Sydney 2004

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